


Ice and Water

by echoelbo



Series: 100 Prompt Challenges [2]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: 100 prompts, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, Peony has a known crush on Jade and Jade doesn't return it, also Jade's somewhat sadistic in these one shots, but they still might be dating depending on the setting of each fic, continuing the 100 prompt challenge that I started in the Xenoblade fandom, each chapter will be unrelated to the others, one shots, so nothing sexual happens, the adventures of ace Jade and bi Peony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-14 18:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4575951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoelbo/pseuds/echoelbo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peony enjoys Jade's company far more than he used to and far more than he should. Naturally, this means he ends up harassing Jade at the most unreasonable times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 7. Mist (Modern au)

The distant sound of cars rushing was blanketed by the fog hanging over the town. Peony walked out of his house, stretching in an attempt to shake some of his sleepiness off. When that did not help much, he opted instead to take a deep breath of the musty air and start walking along the sidewalk, away from his parents’ mansion. He took out his phone, never slowing his pace, and sent a text to his friend before putting his phone in do-not-disturb mode and shoving it back in his pocket.

With his message sent, he leisurely strolled along his path, taking in the misty view. It was rare enough for this town to become foggy, and it usually happened while Peony was asleep. It was not a spectacular occurrence, but Peony found himself interested in the strangely silent and muffled world around him. The smell of rain, the cause of the fog, only heightened his interest – water falling from the sky in a solid form was nice sometimes, but Peony far preferred warm rain to the icy snow.

With spring looming nearby, it seemed the weather was about to turn in Peony’s favor. He smiled at the thought.

Peony turned a corner and the houses quickly faded into the fog behind him. Everything around him appeared to be enshrouded in white. Peony stopped and looked around in awe before veering off the sidewalk and trudging through damp grass. He followed the distant sound of water rushing – a fountain that he knew was closer than it sounded – through a grassy area he visited often. Trees appeared and faded as he walked. A bench quickly came into sight, and Peony sat on it, leaning forward in an attempt to see the nearby fountain better.

The fog really was bad. Peony wondered how anyone drove through it. He leaned back on the bench, closing his eyes and listening to the foreign sounds of the morning.

He sat there unmoving. The sound of muffled footsteps caught his attention and he focused only on those. They moved closer to him and Peony found himself remembering all those cautionary tales about foggy meetings. His thoughts only served to make him more excited somehow, though he still did not budge.

The footsteps stopped beside him and Peony maintained his position, pretending to be asleep. He felt a can get shoved into his face as the footsteps walked around him, the person settling next to him on the bench.

“You’re a horrible pretender, Peony.”

Peony grinned and grabbed the can without opening his eyes. “I’m tired! Let me sleep, Jade!” he whined, not a trace of honesty in his tone. He opened his eyes and looked at his companion.

Jade already had papers on his legs and a pen in hand. He handed a paper to Peony and Peony grabbed it, looking it over with a small amount of interest.

“It’s not like you to be up this early. It’s only natural that someone like you would be tired at this hour,” he responded dryly. Peony looked over the paper, which appeared to be the beginning of a scientific report.

“Rude, Jade,” he chided. “You don’t think I could provide much valuable insight to your research, do you?” he asked, lifting the paper above him and reading the first few lines.

“I’m sure you could provide many useful insights to my research – as a test subject, of course.” Peony made a face in response.

“No way. These sound like dangerous chemicals, I don’t want them anywhere near me. Use Dist instead.”

“I’m afraid Dist is sick at the moment. And don’t worry, even some of the most dangerous chemicals are able to neutralize each other into something safer!”

“Sick, you say… I wonder how that happened.” From the corner of his eye, Peony saw Jade’s mouth twitch into a vaguely satisfied smile.

“Regardless, it seems like I’ll need a new test subject.”

“Isn’t it illegal to test on humans?”

“Indeed.”

Peony’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so then these aren’t dangerous chemicals, are they? You wouldn’t test those out on people – or rather, you wouldn’t design an experiment you intend to turn in to your professor that involved this kind of procedure.”

Jade sighed. “You caught on far faster than I had hoped. So, are you willing to help me?”

Peony looked over the paper thoughtfully. “While it’s like you to use complicated words in your reports, I don’t see much detail here. It actually seems vague, for once. What are you testing, even?”

“The effects of those chemicals mixed in a human body.”

“But these are bases and acids, right? Won’t they just become a harmless salt and water when mixed?”

“…”

Peony jolted up. “I get it! You’re testing the placebo effect, aren’t you?”

Jade let out an exaggerated sigh. “If you know, then there’s no point in you helping me.”

Peony laughed. “Sorry for not trusting you with chemicals, Jade! I’ve gotten sick more times than I can count because of you. Besides, why are we talking about schoolwork anyways? It’s the weekend! Relax a little!”

“Unlike a certain rich kid here, I would actually like to pass my classes with good grades. Besides, between school and working, there’s hardly any time for homework as is.”

Peony leaned back again. “Right, your job… You sure work a lot, don’t you?”

“Indeed. Most people do.”

Peony looked up thoughtfully. Despite the heavier conversation and the thick fog, the atmosphere seemed surprisingly light. Peony enjoyed that about Jade – neither would truly try to harm the other, despite all the jabs they take. Peony closed his eyes and leaned slightly against Jade.

“Say, Jade. You said you were testing the placebo effect, weren’t you? Is that how Dist became sick?”

Jade smiled to himself. “Trust me, it was no intention of mine to make him sick. He did that to himself.”

“Because you wouldn’t tell him what you were making him drink.”

“It would be an inaccurate study if I did otherwise.”

Peony laughed. He leaned forward again, resting his arm on Jade’s leg and crinkling some of the papers. “Say, how about we go out for breakfast? It might be better to have a table to write on, after all! Besides, I’m never up this early! I want to see what normal people eat for breakfast.”

Jade sighed, resigned. “I was writing on a table until you texted me this morning, you know.” He pulled his papers out carefully from under Peony’s arm and gathered all of them together.

“Is that a yes?” Peony asked, standing up and grabbing his empty can.

“As long as you pay,” Jade answered, standing up as well.


	2. 8. Hopeless

Hopeless. Peony leaned against the wall of the building, looking up at the dark sky of Grand Chokmah. He should be asleep at this hour, most citizens were, but a sense of worry kept him rooted in his spot. He closed his eyes and listened as water rushed around him.

He was hopeless. Jade was barely his friend to begin with, and with him completely engrossed in his fomicry research, there was very little chance of becoming closer anyways. He wondered why he was there, in front of the building Jade used as his lab and study. Perhaps it was because Jade looked similar to Nephry, whom Peony missed greatly. Peony doubted that. Both were their own person, and Peony knew and respected that.

He opened his eyes and counted the streetlights near him – five. He knew the number even without counting. The area was more familiar to him than the castle, which was something he knew was strange. Emperors should not mingle much with their subjects. At least, his father seemed to believe that.

Peony sighed and pushed himself off the wall. He opened the door and walked into the dimly lit room.

“I’m here,” Peony drawled. He looked to the location he knew Jade’s desk to be and saw him leaning over some papers, writing notes.

“Be careful not to knock anything over,” Jade replied, waving lazily. Peony scoffed and walked over to Jade’s side.

“What can I even knock over? You keep this place spotless!” Peony said. When Jade did not respond, Peony put his arm on Jade’s shoulder and leaned on him, looking at Jade’s work.

He understood more of Jade’s notes than he would like to admit. He looked over them, impressed. Even though he understood them, he would not have been able to create such theories himself.

The main thing Peony retained from the notes was the hasty writing. Rather, he knew Jade’s handwriting well enough. It was neat, even when scribbled. Jade always took time to make things neat and perfect and when that faltered, something was wrong.

“Things not working out, huh?” Peony asked, reading the notes. Jade did not answer – he tapped his pen impatiently against his desk. Peony took the chance to look closely at Jade’s face. There were dark bags under Jade’s eyes. His eyes were dull, his reactions slower than usual.

He looked tired, strained from obsession. Peony’s face probably looked much better, despite his lack of sleep as well.

With a sigh, Jade pushed Peony off of him. “Your Majesty, please –“

“Just call me Peony. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Is that why you were just breathing down my neck? Because we’re ‘friends’? I’m afraid I don’t swing that way, Your Highness.”

Peony laughed. At least Jade was regaining some of his fight. Peony put his hand on the desk and leaned on that instead, trying to meet Jade’s gaze.

“So, as I was asking before you so bluntly changed the topic, how’s the research going?”

“It’s progressed a lot, Your Majesty.”

“But you’re stuck now?”

Jade did not reply or meet Peony’s gaze. Peony gave him a minute before speaking up again.

“You know, you don’t seem very happy with your research. These replicas you create – they’re not the same as their originals, nor are they meant for this world. What do you even intend to do if you manage to create a fake Nebilim with her memories?” Peony gave Jade a moment to respond, which Jade ignored. “Do you honestly think the professor would want this kind of pointless bloodshed?”

“So my research is pointless, then?” Jade retaliated, his words pointed. Peony flinched – Jade had never snapped back at him before, no matter how many times he tried to talk him out of fomicry.

“Of course not, you doofus. Everything can be used for good or bad. Fomicry itself isn’t pointless, trying to revive Nebilim is.”

Peony watched Jade scowl at the words. They did not sit well with him, and Peony knew why.

“So you’re saying this cause is hopeless.”

The word caught Peony off-guard. He stood frozen in shock for a few seconds.

Then, before he could help himself, he started laughing.

Jade watched Peony cautiously, but Peony did not mind. He grabbed Jade’s shoulder to steady himself and Jade did not push him off.

“Hopeless,” Peony choked out through his laughter. Jade continued watching him, now unamused. “Hopeless, he says…” Peony wiped the tears from his eyes and steadied his breathing. “I suppose your cause is hopeless. Not only because it’s impossible, mind you, but because this isn’t what the professor would want at all!”

Jade cocked an eyebrow at his friend. Peony took that as a sign to continue.

“Jade, she wanted you to live happily – you know that, right? She spent a lot of time with you because –“

“Because I requested it.”

“Indeed, but also because she wanted you to become something special. She saw something in you, Jade. You want her forgiveness? Do your very best and live the best you can for her. Become that something she was trying to help you become, I can guarantee you that’ll earn her forgiveness.”

Jade looked incredulous. “And pray tell, Your Majesty, what did she see in me?”

Peony waved at him dismissively. “Who knows! I could take a guess, but the only person who knew was Nebilim herself.”

Jade looked down at his notes quietly. Peony moved himself to a chair and sat down.

Hopeless, Jade said. Peony had felt hopeless walking into the building, but with all the failure surrounding fomicry, he now assumed Jade must have felt far worse. Peony closed his eyes and smiled.

“If you fall asleep there, Peony, you’ll cause your servants to panic when they can’t find you in the morning.”

Peony laughed. “Let them panic, this chair’s too comfortable.”

Despite how hopeless Jade must have felt, Peony believed in him.


End file.
